A careful health history is key to managing patients who experience near-fatal asthma (NFA) attacks.

In a study of 19 patients with NFA and 80 controls, researchers at Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, have described the physiologic features and risk factors associated with the condition. Risk factors they identified include a history of previous mechanical ventilation, admission to an intensive care unit, and worsened asthma symptoms in January and February.